Alpha Asian

I watched a great video on the Big WoWo blog. Here's Byron's synopsis of the video: "Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie talks about what she calls 'the danger of the single story' and how stereotypes can warp a culture’s perception of the people of another culture when there are not many stories told about that other culture. She talks about growing up in Africa reading the stories of Americans and British, and how she felt people like her could not 'exist in literature.' She talks about how power comes into the equation, and how stories can make or break the dignity of a people." I think we know the single story for the Asian American experience: The Joy Luck Club . For better or for worse, that movie and book has become the single story for Asian America. I remember watching Better Luck Tomorrow with a Caucasian female friend, and after watching the movie she said, "That was disappointing. I thought it was going to be the Asian male versi...

You know progress is never linear. If you lived during the time of Anna May Wong and Sessue Hayakawa , then you would have thought that Asians would become a significant force in Hollywood in the latter half of the 20th century. There were always blips of progress in cinematic history with regards to representation of the Asian American male: The Crimson Kimono (1959), Flower Drum Song (1961), Bruce Lee (1972), Vanishing Son (1994), Better Luck Tomorrow (2002), Harold and Kumar (2004). Every time one of these movies appeared, it looked like, "Yeah, things are getting better! We're on the road to full representation for the Asian American male!" But representation always comes in spurts, and we've never been able to reach a point of critical mass. I'm hoping that now with all the Asian guys in movies, Internet and TV that we'll gain some traction as far as representation, but more importantly… respect. Divide and Conquer The thing is Alph...

So here's a new movie out in limited release called Ping Pong Playa . If it looks good to you, then check it out and post a review here. Speaking of Asian American movies, here are some notable ones of recent years: Finishing the Game- I'm really suprised more people didn't like this film. The comic timing by actors and by director was hilarious. The mockumentary does a pretty good job of critiquing Hollywood without being too preachy. in fact, it's quite funny. I think some people just didn't get this film, because: 1) they didn't grow up in the 1970's watching Bruce Lee films and cheesy knock-offs 2) most people just don't the see the racism in Hollywood casting, so most viewers will wonder "what the hell is this movie alluding too?" I think you'll enjoy this if you're an Asian American dude who grew up in the 1970's, watched Kung Fu theater and took Asian American Studies in college. This is very much a niche film. ...